New Jersey is the last place you’d think a pagan folk metal band would originate from, yet the Garden State’s Windfaerer unleash a full-on eight-track Euro metal explosion with TRIBUS. Formed to pay tribute to mainman M. Goncalves’ Iberian Peninsula roots, this offering is packed to the gills with aggressive vocals, folk metal melodies and melodeath density commonly found in the works of similarly sounding Scandinavian outfits (“In the Wake of War”). This troupe adds little to the genre despite their difference in lineage yet exhibits an uncanny knack for recreating tones and atmosphere their Nordic brethren employ with dashes of authentic instrumentation via the presence of a violin and bagpipes (“This Beautiful Death”, “Viriato”) and thankfully without keyboards. Grab your sword and shield and pillage towards the Lincoln Tunnel for this exercise in pagan folk metal. www.myspace.com/windfaerer
- Mike SOS